Lawsuit from Sen. Flake's son against Arpaio heads to court

Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio, front right, leaves U.S. District Court on the first day of his contempt-of-court trial Monday, June 26, 2017, in Phoenix. (Source: AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

PHOENIX (AP) -

A civil trial beginning Tuesday will focus on former Arizona Sheriff Joe Arpaio's reputation for pursuing trumped-up criminal charges against his political adversaries.

One of U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake's sons alleges in a malicious-prosecution lawsuit that the former six-term sheriff of metro Phoenix filed animal cruelty charges against him and his then-wife to damage the senator politically and gain publicity for himself.

Austin Flake and his former wife, Logan Brown, sued over Arpaio's investigation into the 2014 deaths of 21 dogs at a kennel operated by the younger Flake's in-laws. The Flakes were watching the dogs while the in-laws were in Florida.

The dogs died of heat exhaustion when an air conditioner failed in a small room where they spent the night.

The case against the Flakes was dismissed at the request of prosecutors, and the owners of the kennel pleaded guilty to animal cruelty charges after an expert determined the air conditioner failed because the operators didn't properly maintain it.

The lawsuit alleges that Arpaio tried to link Sen. Flake to the dog deaths by conducting surveillance on the senator's home and examining phone records to see if the younger Flake called his father during the time he was watching the dogs.

Lawyers for Austin Flake and Brown have said the Republican senator disagreed with Arpaio over immigration and criticized the movement that questioned the authenticity of then-President Barack Obama's birth certificate.

Arpaio, also a Republican, was known for carrying out dozens of large-scale immigration crackdowns and conducting a five-year investigation of Obama's birth record.

The allegations from the younger Flake come after Maricopa County paid $8.7 million to settle lawsuits from officials and judges who claimed Arpaio had launched criminal investigations against them on trumped-up allegations in disputes over budget cuts, a plan to build a new court complex and other issues.

The settlements included $1.2 million that was given to a judge who was charged in a now-discredited bribery case brought by Arpaio.

Arpaio was later accused of investigating a federal judge who presided over a racial profiling case against the sheriff's office - an allegation that Arpaio vigorously denied.

In a 2016 deposition in Austin Flake's lawsuit, Arpaio didn't accept responsibility for bringing the charges against the couple and was unable to cite any evidence to support the allegations. But he still expressed confidence in his investigators.

The federal judge presiding over the trial said investigators didn't have probable cause to charge the couple.

Lawyers for the Flakes say the criminal charges contributed to the demise of their marriage, emotionally devastated them and led the senator's son to be suspended from his college for an honor-code violation.

The lawsuit doesn't specify how much money the younger Flake and his ex-wife are seeking. But they previously sought $4 million in a notice of claim, a precursor to a lawsuit.

---

Follow Jacques Billeaud at twitter.com/jacquesbilleaud. His work can be found at https://www.apnews.com/search/jacques%20billeaud .

Stargazers, get ready for a dazzling show Wednesday night into Thursday morning as the year's best meteor shower, the Geminids, reaches its peak. NASA says the shower will peak between 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 and dawn on Dec. 14.

Stargazers, get ready for a dazzling show Wednesday night into Thursday morning as the year's best meteor shower, the Geminids, reaches its peak. NASA says the shower will peak between 7:30 p.m. Dec. 13 and dawn on Dec. 14.

Pigeons can be a pain. And once you get them, they're hard to get rid of. But some neighbors at one apartment complex near 28th Street and Osborn in Phoenix are worried about dead and dying pigeons. And no one is happy about what's left behind.

Pigeons can be a pain. And once you get them, they're hard to get rid of. But some neighbors at one apartment complex near 28th Street and Osborn in Phoenix are worried about dead and dying pigeons. And no one is happy about what's left behind.

A Guadalupe man is sitting in jail with a charge of second-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed and killed his girlfriend in front of her teen son, according to court documents. (Source: Maricopa County Sheriff's Office)

A Guadalupe man is sitting in jail with a charge of second-degree murder after he allegedly stabbed and killed his girlfriend in front of her teen son, according to court documents.

Laney Sweet, the widow of the Texas man who was shot and killed by an ex-Mesa police officer who was found not guilty of murder, spoke to CBS News about the acquittal and how her family is coping with the loss. (Tuesday, December 12, 2017)

Laney Sweet, the widow of the Texas man who was shot and killed by an ex-Mesa police officer who was found not guilty of murder, spoke to CBS News about the acquittal and how her family is coping with the loss. (Tuesday, December 12, 2017)

"The court believes that you may well face a murder charge in this case," the commissioner said when setting a $150,000 secured appearance bond for Sidney Landers, who was arrested Monday for child abuse. Full story @ https://goo.gl/C67ZMd.

"The court believes that you may well face a murder charge in this case," the commissioner said when setting a $150,000 secured appearance bond for Sidney Landers, who was arrested Monday for child abuse. Full story @ https://goo.gl/C67ZMd.